Need for Speed: NFL.com says Colts’ stalling edge rush needs offseason upgrade

The Colts need speed.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - OCTOBER 26: Laiatu Latu #97 of the Indianapolis Colts rushes during the NFL 2025 game between Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) | Getty Images

According to NFL.com, the one roster move that the Indianapolis Colts should make this offseason is injecting much needed speed to their outside pass rush, which has routinely lacked juice opposite rising third-year defensive end Laiatu Latu:

Indianapolis Colts

2025 record: 8-9

  • Inject edge speed.

The Colts sound confident they’ll retain Daniel Jones and that the quarterback will be ready for the season. While there are still big questions under center, one thing I’d like to see GM Chris Ballard hammer this offseason is adding speed on the edge, where Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis and Samson Ebukam are all slated to be free agents. At times last season, the edge pressure disappeared in Indy. Laiatu Latu had an excellent second season, but he could use a consistent running mate on the other side.

Entering this early offseason, the Colts pass rushing deficiencies have already been well documented.

Specifically:

As a defensive unit collectively, the Colts had 29.0 total sacks, which was the 7th fewest in the league this past year. Per ESPN Analytics, the Colts ranked just 30th at 29% in pass rush win rate during 2025.

No Colts pass rusher had double-digit sacks, as Latu led the Colts with 8.5 total sacks this past campaign. No other Colts defender had more than 4.0 sacks individually.

It’s possible that the Colts could have a lot of turnover at the defensive end position too because as NFL.com’s Kevin Patra notes, each of Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis are set to become NFL free agents.

The Colts could turn to the first waves of free agency to help boost their pass rush with the likes of Trey Hendrickson, Odafe Oweh, or Jaelan Phillips, etc.

On the other hand, without a first round pick in 2026 (or 2027 for that matter), Indianapolis could also turn to either Round 2 or 3 of the upcoming NFL Draft’s early rounds to find an impact rookie rotational pass rusher.

Category: General Sports